This invention relates to rotary milling cutters and more particularly, to cutters having clamped indexable cutting inserts.
Milling cutters have been made to use clamped indexable cutting inserts. Such inserts are of polygonal cross-section, but may also be round, and have their sides ground perpendicular to their longitudinal axes to provide cutting edges. When one of the cutting edges becomes dull, a fresh cutting edge can be brought into cutting position merely by indexing the insert on its axis and by turning the insert end for end until each side has been used.
Prior milling cutters have generally required a holding member for each individual insert. Proper location of the inserts has generally required the use of adjusting screws for each such holder. The resulting cutters have thus been complex and expensive.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a milling cutter suitable for use with indexable cutting inserts and which will eliminate the need for a holding member for each such insert.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a cutter that can use a greater number of cutting inserts than has heretofore been possible.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a cutter having a single locating plate and a single retaining plate irrespective of the number of cutting inserts used.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a cutter that can be used at extremely high cutting speeds.